Stop Street Harassment

Making Public Spaces Safe and Welcoming

Hollaback! York – The Challenges and Rewards of Starting a New Group

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Guest Blog Post for International Anti-Street Harassment Week 2015

We are launching a new branch of Hollaback in York, UK and getting set up and running has been a pretty positive experience for us so far. York is a fairly small city and isn’t really known for its activism, so we had been worried at the start that there wouldn’t be many people wanting to get involved. But the response has been really great – it just goes to show that street harassment really is something that affects almost everyone and once you start the conversation, people are always keen to join in. The two universities in York have recently launched anti-sexual harassment campaigns and zero tolerance policies, and seeing people in our community take sexual harassment seriously makes us really hopeful that things can change in York to become a much safer space for everyone.

Having said that, we have had a couple of challenges, including being denied permission from the council to do a chalk walk during International Anti-Street Harassment Week. We were really looking forward to that; chalk walks from other anti-street harassment groups are always really popular, as they are a great quick and fun way to spread awareness that prompt the public to ask questions and get involved. So we are having to get a little creative and find some alternatives instead!

Our favourite part so far has been the incredible network of support from other anti-street harassment sites and blogs all over the world, all sharing and learning from each other and working together to build our knowledge and understanding of such a complex issue. However, what we are really looking forward to is making a difference to people in York when our site is officially up and running. Street harassment can be a dangerous and humiliating experience and we are keen to get stuck in with anything we can do for our community to show some support, provide some comfort, or empower someone to speak out.

We have found out that there are plenty of ups and downs in this work, but we are definitely looking forward to more of it!

This piece was written by the Co-Director of Hollaback York

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Hollaback! Amsterdam: Starting, Launching and Sustaining a Movement

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Guest Blog Post for International Anti-Street Harassment Week 2015

In December 2014, I was sitting in front of my computer scanning for resources for research I was conducting on street harassment in Amsterdam. What I found was a few scattered blog posts about individuals’ experiences being catcalled or groped throughout the city and their frustrations with the lack of attention and action around the issue.

I kept searching and came across a current campaign by a local group called Straat Intimidatie (Street Intimidation). Their goal is to demand legislation against street harassment from Dutch politicians. This seemed very promising. I reached out to the founder of the group, Gaya Branderhorst and as we spoke, it became clear: Amsterdam has a big problem. A problem that many of its residents, including women, people of color and LGBTQI people, don’t feel safe or comfortable in public spaces.

I put out a feeler through local activist circles and social media networks. Within just a few months, the Hollaback! Amsterdam was team was formed. There are five of us of four different nationalities, including Dutch, German, Honduran and American.  Some of us identify as LGBTQI, some as feminists, and all have at least a handful (if not several handfuls) of stories of experiencing street harassment. These experiences are what inspired us to join the movement in Amsterdam and are what motivate us to fight street harassment in our city.

Because we are an all-volunteer group, launching a brand new site and preparing for a major launch event this week (April 14) has been incredibly rewarding, but also not without challenges.  We have met some amazing and dedicated people through this process who are working on issues of street harassment, domestic violence, gender equality, humanitarian response and human rights. We have had a lot of interest in what we are doing expressed through our Facebook page and Twitter feed. However, every one of us, besides launching Hollaback! Amsterdam, is also working full-time, a full-time student or both working and studying.

Despite each of us juggling Hollaback! with our busy lives, it has been truly inspiring to work with a group of people so committed to such an important cause. As we approach our launch event in April, we are motivated by all of the support, engagement and inspiration we’ve received from residents of Amsterdam, communities within the Netherlands and supporters worldwide.

Eve Aronson is the Co-director of Hollaback! Amsterdam

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